I just recently acquired a PSP, so I’ll be adding a bit of the Sony flavor to the mix. The PSP is surprisingly deep with features, and downloading demos is easy as it is on the 360. The demo selection isn’t as wide, but there are some quality demos up before releases of games. This week I’ll be reviewing the current Metal Gear Solid demo selection, Peace Walker.

Peace Walker is pretty impressive for a portable game. I haven’t played Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, or MGS: Portable Ops Plus, so this demo review isn’t taking those into account. This is mission based instead of the open world based games I’m used to from the console versions of Metal Gear. Stealth seems to be less important, and battling it out with the bad guys is almost an equally viable approach to the missions. I can’t complain, as I’m all for a great action game, and here you get to decide what you want your Metal Gear to be. There are four missions on the demo, and they all use different landscapes from Jungles to warehouses, but each presents the same objectives. Get through the rooms without dying. A simple mission really, but pretty fun for a pick up and play Metal Gear Solid affair.

The game controls smooth, and the button configuration menus are easy to navigate. There are a few different equipment configurations you can use, which makes for a bit more variety, but overall you get the same gameplay no matter what equipment or map you pick. I can’t tell if there is much of a story to the game, but I imagine in the full game, the story will be as robust as any other portable action game in 2010. The voice acting that I heard was top notch, and the classic Metal Gear sound effects are all in there, complete with a “Snake!” death call.

The graphics are clear as anything Konami put out on the Playstation 2. Peace Walker may even look better than Snake Eater, it’s PS2 counterpart. The PSP is certainly setting a bar for handheld graphics because this game looks gorgeous even in demo form. The Jungle environments look alive, and the enemies move fluidly. There seems to be a co-op online option available, but I haven’t been able to get anywhere with it as of this writing. There’s just a lot going on at once, and this demo runs without any lag in my experience. Between the sound, graphics, and controls, this game just hits all it’s spots perfectly.

This demo is for anyone who has a PSP and an internet connection, and to not try it for free, is a disservice to any gamer. If you’re a fan of the MGS series, this is a must buy, and if you’re not, then it’s a must demo. It certainly isn’t the smoothest shooter of all time, but it’s a great stealth action game with great production values, which is what’s important in this day and age.

Rating: Download Immediately